


The Random Frantic Actions That We Take

by SundayZenith



Series: Fictober 2019 [5]
Category: Tangled (2010)
Genre: Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Emotional Abuse, Fictober 2019, Food shaming, Gen, Raps is like nine/ten here, Vague spoilery reference to the series, ask to tag, slight but it’s still there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-08 23:58:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20985431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SundayZenith/pseuds/SundayZenith
Summary: Fictober days seven and eightMother Gothel returns to the tower after a week away.





	The Random Frantic Actions That We Take

**Author's Note:**

> Title from “The Astronaut” by Amanda Palmer 
> 
> Fictober day seven: “No, and that’s final.”  
Fictober day eight: “Can you stay?”

It had rained on and off the last two days, and clouds were still almost entirely hiding the sky. It had been a gray month, threatening to rain for a while now, but usually the sun poked through for a little while, but not the last few days. Rapunzel didn’t like looking at all the gray, especially at night when it was so dark you couldn’t make out any texture or tell the time by the passing moon and you have no choice but be aware that the stars are so completely out of reach and how alone you are when you realize that.

Not that Rapunzel had been alone- she had had Pascal as a friend for nearly a year now, and the chameleon had been by her side nearly every moment of it. Not that Rapunzel was alone now, either, even though Pascal was currently hiding in one of her dresses.

Afterall, Rapunzel was never alone as long as Mother was there.

Mother was humming tunelessly to herself from the kitchen, while Rapunzel sat by the window. Mother had brought cookies- only five, since Mother had suspected she would come home to a nearly empty pantry.

“And you know how I love to spoil you, Flower, but I swear I can never keep up to your eating bouts. Really, dear, it you keep eating like this, soon you won’t be able to  _ walk _ , let alone keep things tidy. I’m  _ teasing _ ,” she called this last part, looking over her shoulder at Rapunzel, seeing the girl hadn’t taken more than a few bites from the cookie.

“I know you are,” Rapunzel smiled, hurriedly finished the cookie under Mother’s stare.

Mother draped herself onto the chair, an arm thrown over her head, saying, “But really, dear, it's a good thing I had the foresight to bring all that food back, though I’d just about threw my back out, carrying it all here. I mean, honestly, how much can one little girl eat in a single week?”

A single week. Seven whole days. That’s how long Mother had been gone- usually she only left Rapunzel for a day or two, four at the most.

But not this time. This time, Rapunzel had been alone, save Pascal, and the sun and moon and stars when the clouds parted, for a week.

As if sensing Rapunzel’s thoughts, Mother beckoned her over, saying, “Get your brush, it's been too long since I’ve had some time with my precious little Flower.”

Brushing her hands on her skirt, Rapunzel ran to her bed to get it. She ignored the odd look Pascal sent her.

Rapunzel sat herself on the stool in front of Mother, closing her eyes and letting herself just  _ feel  _ for a moment- the brush running through her scalp, her Mother’s hands on her shoulders, caressing her like she was a precious flower. 

After her moment, Rapunzel exhaled. And she sang, “ _ Flower, Gleam and Glow…. _ ”

—

It was around mid-afternoon, Rapunzel guessed, when Mother began reaching for her cloak. There was a break in the rain, and there was even a bit of sunlight poking through the gray clouds. Pascal was hiding behind the mirror, eyeing her intently as if urging her to do something.

“Mother,” Rapunzel said.

Mother’s hand stalled and she looked up in curiosity. “Yes, Flower?”

Rapunzel hesitated, her eyes flicking to Pascal as subtly as she could. He nodded at her.

“It’s… it’s probably not safe to travel alone in this weather.”

Mother gave a short laugh at that. “Dear, your mummy’s not going to be knocked down by a little rain.”

“I know,” Rapunzel said quickly. “It’s just, I’d feel better if-“

“Oh, dear, I can tell you’re about to start a whole thing,” Mother sighed. She smiled at Rapunzel before patting the top of her head. “You don’t need to worry your precious little head.”

“But, maybe, if I came with you-“

“No.”

“Mother, please, if I-“

Mother’s smile was gone, along with her hand. Rapunzel felt as if the top of her head when it just was was both burning and completely frozen at the loss.

“ _ Don’t _ make me repeat myself, Rapunzel,” Mother said, her voice still light in spite of the hard look on her face.

Rapunzel met her cold, gray eyes, so much like the sky two night when Rapunzel has woken up completely alone, no stars, no moon, no rain, even no Pascal, and for a moment she was surely Mother would never come back, that she would be alone forever, that even Pascal had abandoned her. She had cried hard, so hard she couldn’t breathe until long after Pascal had returned from a midnight snack to console her and she had nursed a headache the next day.

Looking at her Mother’s eyes, Rapunzel couldn’t stop herself from saying, “Don’t leave without me, then.”

Mother reeled back. “No!  _ No, and that’s final! _ ”

She was reaching for her cloak again and Rapunzel knew, she  _ knew _ , she had done it. Mother would leave for good this time, then Pascal, and maybe even the clouds and the rain and the lights that always appeared on her birthdays and the entire sky and who would she be but some little girl in a tower?

She grabbed her Mother’s sleeve, crying out, “Wait!”

She held tight to the sleeve, not daring to wrap her hand around Mother’s arm. “Please, Mother, I can’t- I don’t want to be-  _ can you stay?  _ Just one more night, stay like you used to- please, Mother, I-“

“Flower,” Mother’s voice was so much softer now. She replaced her hand on Rapunzel’s head, and Rapunzel was surprised to realize that she almost wish her Mother had left, had walked out for good, so Rapunzel would never watch the window wondering when she’d be back again.

Rapunzel pushed these feelings down with a hot flash of shame.

“Of course, my Flower. Oh, I was just going hang my cloak up, silly. You know I love you, dear, I wouldn’t just abandon my precious daughter like that. You know that, right?”

Rapunzel made herself nod, telling herself she  _ was _ being silly, she was overreacting, Mother would always come back.

Mother smiled at her, and Rapunzel made herself smile back.

—

Two days later, the clouds had lifted, and the sky was clear and blue like it was the rest of the year. Rapunzel sat, watching her Mother walk away from the window. Pascal nuzzled under her chin and she could feel his eyes boring into her.

In the kitchen, one cookie sat uneaten.

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: sunshine-zenith


End file.
